It’s Like Christmas Every Day with Evergreen Blogs

When you sit down to write a new blog, I’m sure you’re already thinking, “This needs to be full of valuable content”. “I need to make sure it’s going to create a lot of interest so I can grow my list.” “Maybe I’ll even get so much interest that it’ll go viral!” “If I can make it valuable enough, people will link back to it and bring more traffic to my site and then I’ll see an increase in revenue and….” You get the picture.

If these are the ambitious thoughts that fill your head, you’re already on the right track to creating evergreen content.

This is usually where other writers insert something about trees, but I’ll spare you the dad jokes and just tell you that evergreen content is writing that always stays relevant. It doesn’t change over time. It stays as interesting to a reader today as it will for a reader in six months.

A quick definition of evergreen content is that it’s timeless, high-quality, lengthy, valuable, and the definitive source of information on its topic.

Still not sure what I mean? Here are a couple examples of blogs that are evergreen:

How-tos-

Beginners guide-

Lists-

Industry tips–

Case studies-

And here are a couple examples of blogs that aren’t evergreen:

Op-ed-

News/Trends-

Event-specific-

Why bloggers love evergreen content

Bloggers love creating evergreen content because long after they’ve written that post, it’s relevance keeps going to work for them. Without having to constantly check in and update the facts, readers keep returning to those blogs because of its valuable and timeless content.

And these blogs aren’t just great for you and your team. Whether they realize it or not, readers love evergreen content too. Because these blogs provide basic information on niche topics, readers who are constantly searching for this type of info now have a place to keep coming back to. No need to spend hours searching the Internet for new sources – they now have the definitive source on their topic with your blog.

Sounds like evergreen blogs would be a dreamy addition to your content strategy, right? Let’s talk about how to make that a reality.

How to write evergreen copy that stays evergreen

Now that you know how important evergreen blogs are to the growth of your online business, are you ready to start creating your own? Great!

By following a few simple guidelines, you can be on your way to creating your first evergreen post today!

Be the trusted and definitive source.

The biggest attraction to evergreen copy is the all-inclusive information readers get from it. After you’ve put in the work to become the authority on your subject by showing up every day, guest posting on other authority sites, and generally being the rad blogger you are, creating these blog posts will be a piece of cake.

You already know the majority of all the data, statistics, and other intriguing facts your readers want to know, so spend some time and create a blog post that can become the definitive source. Make sure you’re as thorough as possible. You’ll need to spend more time on evergreen blogs than you would on other ones.

Figure out which posts are evergreen.

You might not realize it, but you probably already have a couple evergreen blogs already under your belt (or ones that could easily turn into evergreen blogs). To figure out which ones these are, check your analytics for the blog posts with the most views.

Now think about how you can shift those posts to be centered around and more full of the kind of facts and information people are always looking for. Add a few more paragraphs for length and you’re on your way to an evergreen blog.

Think about future readers.

When you’re writing an evergreen blog it’s important to think about the future. You want to create content that can stand the test of time. Make sure when you’re writing, don’t say things like “this past May”, “recently” or have anything related to current news or trends.

Whatever you’re saying has to sound like it’s in constant present tense. If you’re writing in 2016 and say “in May”, that information isn’t going to be current for someone reading the blog in 2017. As long as you’re constantly aware of your future readers, you’ll automatically stay in the green.

When you’re writing, keep this in mind and use easy-to-read words and sentence structure. The more simple and clear your writing is, the more accessible it will be to your readers.

Add in high traffic keywords.

Remember how I said evergreen blogs get ranked high in search engines? Adding in high traffic keywords will help add to your searchability. But if you want to get real crazy, start trying to rank under long-tail keywords. You won’t get as many hits from these as you will short-tail keywords, but the more specific and long they get, the higher you’ll rank in those niches.

Optimize on lead generation.

With all the traffic coming to your site with your evergreen content, don’t miss your chance to grow your list. Make sure you’ve created forms on your site to collect leads as the come in. You’ll definitely be kicking yourself if you wait until after your evergreen posts hits thousands of views to create lead capturing forms.

Keeping up with updates.

I know I said you don’t have to update your evergreen copy early in this blog, but while it doesn’t require a lot of updating, it’s smart to update it from time to time. I’m talking every three to six months just checking up on it.

In all reality how likely do you think a blog can stay relevant for years on end? Our world is constantly changing. People are researching, experimenting, and learning things every day so you want to make sure you’re best practices are still best practices and top 10 facts are still the top 10. Also, here are two more things to always make sure are up-to-date:

CTA- While the rest of your content may still be evergreen, your Call To Action buttons will change every time you have a new version or a totally new product. You need to make sure those buttons are pointing to the right products. Also, it’s nice just to freshen up with wording on those buttons from time to time. A reader who’s been on the site a few times might notice the button if it’s designed or written differently.

Links- You’ve probably written new blog posts or created new products that pertain to your evergreen pieces. Go back through and create new internal links between your content. This will help you drive more traffic on both sides.

Promote!

As always, promoting your blog is how people will find it in the first place. But what’s great about evergreen content is that by its very nature, it’s already made to be shareable. If you follow the guidelines I’ve laid out, these blogs will instinctively be some of your most interesting and well-researched posts. People are naturally going to retweet and share your links if you’ve done it right.

Are you already incorporating evergreen blogs in your content strategy? What tips would you give a new blogger about creating their own?

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As a daughter of an entrepreneur, the wife of an entrepreneur, and an entrepreneur herself, Dani has lived and learned all sides of creating and growing businesses. She is excited to bring all that life experience as well as a decade of crafting content to the ConvertKit community. She is a part-time baker, dinner-party planner, and lover of good bourbon living the simple life in Nashville with her husband, Sean.

Hi, Dani–
Thanks for another great post. I was wondering what “evergreen” meant–makes a lot of sense. I’m new to blogging and appreciate the content you’ve shared here.
I have a question for you, given the fact that you are an entrepreneur. I write to encourage and equip couples to have great marriages. I’m married to an entrepreneur, and we have had some unique struggles related to the risks that entrepreneurs face.
Question: What challenges do you and your husband face that maybe friends/peers with “normal” jobs don’t have? Any questions you would like to direct my way would be great ideas for blog posts–names, of course, would not be revealed. I blog at kathyrushing.com, info@kathyrushing.com is the email.
Thank you so much.

Dani Stewart (ConvertKit)

Hey @kathyrushing:disqus , that’s quite a subject to breech! haha. And thanks for asking. This life we’ve chosen is definitely not for the faint of heart. Let me think on all that and I’ll definitely send you an email in a few days. tha